Breaching Experiment: Public Restroom E

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Sociology 1 10.13.12 Breaching Experiment: Public Restroom Etiquette For this assignment I was asked to violate a social norm. I chose to violate a folkway. A folkway is “ A relatively unimportant norm that many people prefer to uphold. The violation of a folkway evokes mild punishment” (Brym & Lie, 2010; 36). I decided to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger in the stall next to me in a public restroom. By doing so I broke one of the many an unwritten laws of public restroom etiquette that our society has created, such as washing your hands after going to the bathroom and avoiding sitting next to an occupied bathroom stall if other vacant stalls are available. Most people avoid socializing in public restrooms, talking to a person who is actively using a restroom facility can make them feel very uncomfortable, even more so if they are a stranger. I chose to violate this social norm as opposed to anything else because I figured it would be easier for my timid self to perform as it involved minimum face-to-face interaction and eye contact. I choose to violate the folkway of public restroom etiquette on campus at Pierce College. I loitered outside the woman’s restroom until I was certain only one person was utilizing the facility. I had various opportunities to walk in to the restroom, however to minimize my anxiety I decided I would wait for the most approachable looking person and then proceed with my experiment. Finally a friendly looking young woman entered the stall. I awkwardly walked behind her and seated myself in the stall adjacent to hers, and I proceeded

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